Posted on

World’s leading learning company puts pursuit of efficacy at centre of strategy with implications for GCC operations .

Pearson commits to measure and report impact on learning outcomes

Dubai, UAE, 24 November 2013: Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, has announced a series of unique commitments designed to measure and increase the company’s impact on learning outcomes around the world, including the Gulf region where the company has a significant presence.
As part of a new global education strategy which sets out to help more people make progress in their lives through learning, Pearson has:

·         Committed to report audited learning outcomes, measures and targets alongside its financial accounts, covering its whole business by 2018;
·         Shared plans to “institutionalise” efficacy across Pearson’s organisation, creating dedicated focus and incentives towards learning outcomes targets for all business areas;
·         Published its Efficacy Framework – Pearson’s approach for ensuring its products and services enable students to learn what they need to make progress – for feedback and improvement;
·         Promised to develop a global research network to gather the evidence needed on the “path to efficacy”, and openly to share and broker debate around its findings.
The company’s ambition is to ensurethat its work is driven by an ever-clearer understanding of how it can maximise and measure its impact on learning outcomes, drawing on the lessons of the healthcare industry to invest in research and development and build new partnerships that will address the most pressing unmet needs in education.
Mr FadiKhalek, Pearson’s Vice President of Higher Education and Applied Learning in the Arab region says: “Since launching in the Middle East over half a century ago, Pearson has worked closely with learning institutions, governments and individuals to create effective learning solutions that have a positive impact on communities throughout the region. Pearson’s new commitment to efficacy allows us to continue with our journey to move from inputs to outcomes. We now have the tools to evidence the fulfilment of such goals and outcomes whether in our own, Pearson operated institutions or those whom we service”.
Identifying dialogue and collaboration with the wider education community as crucial to accelerate progress, Pearson has also published two reports. The first, Asking More: The Path to Efficacy, sets out the imperative for measuring and improving learning outcomes worldwide. The second, The Incomplete Guide to Delivering Learning Outcomes, shares in detail the company’s new approach to contributing to that goal and the progress it has made so far.
Asking More: The Path to Efficacy brings together some of the world’s leading education experts to highlight how research and data collection can enable a revolutionary degree of rigour in measuring and improving the success of learning products, educational programmes and institutions.
The report argues that efficacy in education is ‘as possible and as pressing’ as in healthcare, and includes contributions from global leaders in education and business including Andreas Schleicher of the OECD, Vicky Colbert of Escuela Nueva, Geoff Mulgan of NESTA and Jon Iwata of IBM.
Pearson will now extend this conversation by creating a new global research network, connecting Pearson’s internal research with outside experts, working together to address barriers to efficacy and big unanswered questions in education. The network will inform Pearson’s strategy and product development, and Pearson will share findings openly through a new online platform, Open Ideas.
Also published is The Incomplete Guide to Delivering Learning Outcomes. Authored by Sir Michael Barber (@michaelbarber9), Pearson’s Chief Education Advisor, and Saad Rizvi
(@saadhrizvi), Senior Vice President, Efficacy, the report shares Pearson’s “Efficacy Framework”, a Review process designed to evaluate and improve impact on learning outcomes, and set outs the company’s strategy, initiatives and insights in applying it.
Efficacy now moves from a pilot programme in Pearson to the centrepiece of its global education strategy. Every part of Pearson’s new organisation will have a senior leader with a specific brief for improving efficacy, and product roles will be reshaped to focus on delivering outcomes rather than inputs. This new network of efficacy leaders will ensure that the efficacy framework and its lessons are applied throughout the company, reviewing all investments over a value of $1m and reporting publicly on Pearson’s progress and impact.  Pearson will also include the delivery of learning outcomes as a central pillar of its HR policies including recruitment, training, performance management and reward.
John Fallon, Pearson’s chief executive, said: “Pearson’s purpose is to help people make progress in their lives through learning. So, we better be sure that we can demonstrate that progress, in all we do, in a meaningful way.
“Our aim is to ensure that every action, every decision, every process, and every investment we make will be driven by a clear sense and understanding of how it will make a measurable impact on learning outcomes. We need to institutionalise this process, and make it our natural habit.
“When we publish our annual report five years from now, we will, in a rigorous and externally audited way, be able to report on the progress we have made in improving learner outcomes.  To achieve this, we will need to collectively agree on the learner outcomes that we will track, measure and strive to achieve. 
“That work is a priority and we will be reaching out across the education community to consult on where we should be directing our energies.”
Michael Barber, Pearson’s Chief Education Advisor, said: “Education is so linked to the wellbeing of individuals and of the economy that we need much more rigorous systems in place to ensure it is working, urgently. Thanks to the growing body of research and data, and the opportunity of technology, achieving efficacy in education is not only as pressing, but now just as possible as in healthcare.

“Global education challenges are too steep for any one organisation to pursue independently. We are sharing the progress we are making so that others can challenge and support us to move more rapidly. Collaboration, partnership, and co-creation are the only way to transform education at the pace the learners we serve require.”
Posted on

First cooperative agreement between TAGI-UNI & Arabic university.

Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University signs MoU with Talal Abu-Ghazaleh University to deliver premier online education
 ]UAE, November 26, 2013[ Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University (HBMeU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Talal Abu-Ghazaleh University (TAGI-UNI) to deliver premier online education. Under the terms of the MoU, TAGI-UNI will promote HBMeU’s e-learning programs. The two parties also agreed to cooperate more closely in academic programs, student enrollment, and Joint Research Activities (JRAs). The new MoU is of great significance as it is the first agreement signed between TAGI-UNI & Arabic university.

Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor, HBMeU, said: “The strategic partnership with Talal Abu-Ghazaleh University is part of our continuing thrust to widen our international network of strong ties with leading academic institutions around the world in line with our ambitious vision of improving the quality of e-learning in the Arab World. The new agreement is of strategic importance as it provides solid ground to intensify our joint efforts to encourage scientific research and provide the best e-learning programs adhering to the highest standards of excellence and quality.”

“We are confident that our strategic partnership with a prominent academic institution, such as Talal Abu-Ghazaleh University, will open new opportunities to promote the culture of e-learning in the Arab World. We are looking forward to exchange the best academic practices and leading experiences which will play vital role in re-shaping the future of learning based on innovative methods in line with the rapid development of the digital world,” he added.
Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, President, TAGI-UNI, said: “The new partnership provides us with direct access to some of the best online programs from HBMeU, a leading, accredited online Arab university. It is a welcome addition to the growing list of TAGI-UNI’s partners, and the cooperation will certainly prove to be fruitful for both parties.”
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh University (www.tagiuni.com( is the gateway to the world’s best online education. The university partners with leading international education institutions to deliver accredited, world-class education to a global student body. It began securing partnerships in mid-2012 and has since signed agreements with Thunderbird School of Global Management, Liverpool University, Walden University, University of Northampton, Canisius College, Amity University, Fort Hays University, University of Scranton,  the British Council, UNITAR, the International Training and Development Group, Inlingua Cheltenham, Genashtim Innovative Learning, Pearson-Edexcel, and now The Hamdan Bin Mohammad e-University.
HBMeU is the first e-learning institute in the Arab World, It was established with the vision of developing a new learning process through the implementation of learning practices characterised by flexibility, quality and diversity. It aims to strengthen self-leadership among learners and prepare them socially and academically for a future career through integration with the job market.

The e-university employs impactful methods that have been developed through extensive research and development by specialists from all over the world. These include offering high quality programs, supporting the pursuit of lifelong learning, promoting the freedom of information, reinforcing a culture of excellence and innovation, and providing education for everyone in line with the highest standards of comprehensiveness and credibility. Hamdan Bin Mohammad e-University constantly identifies knowledge needs, supports research and development programs, and creates an outstanding environment for e-learning.